Surf-boat



A. A. ALLEN SURF BOAT.

, APPLICATION man NOV. 29, 1918.

Patented Dec. 2,1919.

i /Ki ALTON A. ALLEN, OF FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS.

SURF-BOAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2, 1919.

Application filed November 29, 1918. 'erial No. 264,589.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALTON A; ALLEN, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and resident of Fall River, in the county of Bristol and Stateof Massachusetts have invented new and useful Improvements inSurf-Boats, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a boat adapted to be used by bathers infloating or swin ming or riding waves and the object of the invention isto provide a boat of this character which is light and buoyant, whichcan be. easily and substantially constructe which is adapted comfortablyto support a bather either partially or wholly in swimming or floating,which is adapted to skim over the water with a minimum of resistance,which can be used in any one of a number of positions so as to minimizethe inconvenience of turning the boat properly to position samerelatively to the bat-her, which will remain water-tight with little orno calkin'g, which will have little tendency to stick to the sand whenleft on the beach, and which has any one of the aforesaidcharacteristics or any two or more of the aforesaid characteristics incombination.

The invention consists primarily in a buoyant body peculiarly shaped toadapt itself to assist a bather in swimniingor floating. The uppersurface of the body is sloped downwardly toward one end to permit abat-her to lie face downwardly on the said end with his legs extendingbeyond the end and the body ispreferably made sufficiently narrow topermit the bather when lying in said position to use his arms onopposite sides of the boat in swimming. The lower surface of the body isslopedupwardly toward the opposite end to cause the boat to skim overthe water. with less resistance. In order' to adapt the boat to be usedin any position, with either end foremost and with either side up, theupper surface is sloped downwardly in the aforesaid manner at both endsand the lower surface is sloped upwardly in the aforesaid manner at bothends, preferably so that the upper and lower surfaces substantially meetat an edge at both ends and so that the boat is symmetrical with respectto its central horizontal plane. The sloping portions of the saidsurfaces may be either curved or flat and they may extend either a partor all of the to the center of the boat, but

they are preferably curved and they prefcrably extend substantially tothe center of the boat so that the upper and lower surfaces of the boatrespectively curve upwardly and downwardly substantially continuouslyfrom one end to the other. In this way the upper and lower walls of theboat may be applied to theframe more easily and tightly whenconstructing the boat in the particular manner hereinafter described,and the boat has less tendency to stick to the sand when left on thebeach owing to the fact that the curved wall resting on the sandcontacts with the sand only throughout a limited area. This is ofparticular importance when the sand is wet inasmuch as a flat bodyresting on wet sand sticks tightly to the sand due to the fact that thewater rises in the sand and fills the spaces between the particles ofsand and the body.

In a more specific aspect the invention comprises a hollow body havingits upper and lower walls (shaped in the aforesaid manner) closed at thesides and ends to form a substantially water-tight compartment therein.The upper and lower walls are preferably formed of transverse boardsfitted tightly together and secured to side and end members as willhereinafter be described more in detail.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the preferredembodiment of myinvention, 3

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the boat;

Fig. 2' is a plan view'of the boat, constructed as hereinafterdescribed;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the boat;

Fig. 4 is a vertical horizontal section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2;.and

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of the frame of, the boat, one end of theframe being broken away.

7 As illustrated in Fig. 1, my improved boat is preferably considerablylonger than wide and considerably wider than thick. As above stated theupper and lower surfaces 1 are preferably curved longitudinally of theboat so as to meet at the ends 2 and 3 which are preferably rounded bothabout hori- Zontal axes and at the corners. As illustrated thetransverse elements of the top and bottom surfaces are preferablystraight so as to minimize the tendency ofthe boat to tip laterally. Thesides 4 are preferably fiat as illustrated although this particularshape of the sides is not essential.

, tending between the ends ofthe side members are end members com arisinouterv a b V port1ons7 and inner portions 8. The outer portions 7overlap the ends of the side members andthe inner portions 8 eXtend inwardly into the space between the ends of the side members. The innerportions 8 of the end members fit against the'inner sides surfaces ofthe side members.

. the boat.

of the side members at their opposite ends and aretapered-longitudinally of the side members so that their upper and lowersurfaces are flush with the upper and lower The outer and inner portionsof the end members are defined from each other by shoulders 9 disposedsubstantially in the planes of the ends of the side members. The depth'of'the shoulders 9 is made equal to the thickness of the upper andlower walls of the boat. The outer portions 7 of the'end members arealso tapered longitudinally of the boat so that the upper and lowersurfaces of the portions 7 are substantially continuous with I the outersurface of the walls of the boat.

The portions. 7 of the end members are;

rounded at their outer edges and are also rounded at their ends. Theupper and lower walls of the boat are preferably formed of transverseboards 19 fitted tightly together and secured at their opposite ends tothe side members 5. As illustrated in Fig. l the boards 10 lapover theinner portions 8" of the end members and fit against the shoulders 9 ofthe end members. Owing to the tapered shape of the inner portions 8 ofthe end members they are h ld in position by theboards 10 when theboards 10 are merely secured to the side members. Howerer, in ordertotie the parts together more securely the boards overlapping the unnerportions 8 of the end. members arealso preferably secured directly tothe portions 8. I

In order to drain from the interiorof the boat any water which may leakthereinto I preferably provide an opening 11 at one corner ofthe sidemembers at one corner of It will of course be understood that theopening 11 is normally plugged and that water is drained from the boatby re moving the plug and tipping the boat so that the. water will runto the corner in which the opening 11 is provided.

In using my'improved boat the bather rests his body on one end of'theboat face downwardly with his legs extending beyond the end of the boatand with his arms either resting on the boat or extending into the wateron oppositesides of the boat; Owing the bather and owing to the roundedends and corners there is little danger of injury. It will be understoodthat the boat is ap to the curved contour of the uppersurface' 7' of theboat it afiords a eomfortable rest for proximately as long as theaverage bather and that when resting on the boat" in the'f aforesaidmanner the bathers head is in the central'region of the boat. Thus thefor-v ward end of the boat will be tipped up and owing to the curvatureof the'low'er surface of the beat it can be propelled over the waterwith a minimum ofresistance. By curving the upper and lower surfacesofthe' boat at both ends the bather may resthis body on the boat in theaforesaid manner in any one of four positions of the boat via, at eitherend of the boat and with either side of'the boat uppermost. Inapproaching the boat, therefore, it is never necessary to turn it overor turn it end for end. The boat is preferably made suflieientlybuoyant. to support the entire weight of the bather so that-he may, ifhe desires, sit or lie upon the boat. Owing to the peculiar construetion of the end members and their unique having side' member'svertically tapered I from their central region toward each end, endmembers uniting the ends of said slde members so as to'form asubstantially rectangular frame, and straight sheathing menr bersextending transversely of said frame'on each face thereof andlncl'osing'sald frame.

Signed by. me at Fall River, 'Massachu V setts, this 25thdayof-November,1918;

ALTON ALLEN.

